New Year's celebrations spills out onto Jakarta's streets
Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
New Year's Eve in Jakarta was probably not much different from festivities held elsewhere in the world. Hordes of people, crowds blowing trumpets and making as much noise as possible, people selling all kinds of trinkets imaginable, the countdown and of course, the fireworks.
Markedly missing from the festivities here as opposed to, say, in Sydney, were the numerous crates of beer and roadblocks for alcohol control.
Instead, huge stages were erected in public places to cater to the local craze for music, particularly dangdut, a local musical genre mixing Arabic and Indian influences.
Besides the enormous entertainment events at Monas and Ancol, smaller -- but no less festive -- events were also held elsewhere, including at Taman Ria Senayan, South Jakarta, in the front parking lot of state television station TVRI, also in South Jakarta, and at Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM), Central Jakarta.
The A Mild Live Year End Bizarre held at Taman Ria Senayan boasted a bizarre night at the beach with music provided by popular bands Naif and Shaggydog, a magic show by Dedy Corbuzier and the mixing talents of DJ Romy from 1945 Music Factory.
True to its promise of a night at the beach, a large portion of Taman Ria Senayan was covered with sand, dotted with palm trees and hosted a beach volleyball court.
Besides the main attractions on two stages, other entertainment included basketball games, billiards, wall climbing, fortuneteller tents and street magicians.
However, since the main draws of the evening -- Naif and magician Dedy Corbuzier -- did not come on until 10 p.m., the crowd did not begin to amass until well after 9 p.m. and many of the smaller, lesser known bands were left to belt out their songs to a sparing audience.
Besides, the average Jakartan most likely shied away after finding out that the entry ticket cost Rp 75,000 (US$9) per person, especially since there was free entertainment right next door at TVRI.
Usually the venue of the popular weekly live television program Dangdut Pro, the parking lot of the television station that night held a special New Year's Eve program with not only dangdut music, but also rock 'n' roll.
Dangdut Pro has always been a major attraction for people living in and around the Palmerah and Senayan area, and the show is known to cause traffic jams every Wednesday night. But on New Year's Eve that Wednesday, the program surpassed itself.
More than 1,000 people flocked to the television station on Jl. Gerbang Pemuda, Senayan, which turned the road into a quagmire of motorcycles, cars and jostling crowds.
Getting to Taman Ismail Marzuki in Cikini, Central Jakarta, from South Jakarta was a struggle of its own. The roads were so jam-packed it was difficult even for pedestrians. Taxis would not pick up passengers, and the only transportation left was the three-wheeled bajaj, or motorized pedicab. Riding a bajaj in a fierce traffic jam is not comfortable, to say the least. It is a lot faster than a taxi in such conditions, but since the vehicle has a low body and is open-aired, exhaust from other vehicles have free reign to wreck your lungs.
With an aim to Berbagi Ruang Keriangan (Share a Happy Space), the Jakarta Arts Council provided various kinds of entertainment throughout the spacious arts complex, from the modern to the traditional.
A group of local Brazilian martial artists, or caporiste, showed their stuff on the grounds outside Graha Bhakti Budaya hall, and a traditional comedy group from Cirebon was ready to tickle the funny bones of passersby in the parking lot.
Clowns, fortune tellers, a merry-go-round and ferris wheel, and a layar tancap, or outdoor movie screen, were also provided, complete with the usual fare of cotton candy and popcorn.
On the main stage were dance performances, magic shows, a poetry reading, dramatic monologues and skits.
"I come here every day to play, it's fun. For this new year, I just want to be able to get into a state high school," said 11- year-old Heru while donning his colorful mask. Instead of blaring trumpets, visitors at TIM were encouraged to wear masks.
As the clock neared midnight, the crowd split and milled around three venues at TIM -- the stage at the entrance, the installation art piece in the middle of the complex, and the main stage in the inner courtyard.
When the clock struck 12 o'clock, the entrance stage came alive with the launch of 12Pas! (12 o'clock sharp), a musical and arts show that plays every Saturday night at 12 a.m.
Unfortunately, I was stuck at the installation art, which was a small podium with bamboo steps going up to a papier mache globe.
A man in a suit was there, climbing up as the countdown ticked away. Everybody gazed up in anticipation -- the man in the suit held a clock that was five minutes slow -- waiting to see what he would do once his clock struck midnight.
When 2004 finally arrived, he took out a model of a white dove and moved it as though it was taking flight. And that was it ... that was my New Year's Eve.